The New Musings of a Quiet Geek

Last weekend, I watched more research material. Somewhat anyway. After watching The International , I wanted to see The Interpreter, a movie the former supposedly was a rip off from. I didn't see that at all. Sure one had Nicole Kidman and the other had her best friend Naomi Watts but that's really where the similarities end. Sean Penn here reminded me more of Kevin Costner than Clive Owen. And while setting it at the UN, that was really as "global" as it got. It was a great film in it's own right. I have to give a shout out to my book group for understanding the plot's real life origins. If I hadn't read When A Crocodile Eats the Sun I probably would have said Mandela as someone I watching it with did. No, the dictator threatened was clearly based on Robert Mugabe. Some of you will probably laugh but it also reminded me of the Manchurian Candidate ...and Star Trek VI ... On Thursday, I went with the Seminary community downtown to hear the Soweto Gos...

Instead of giving you a huge recap of what I did over my little vacation up north, I decided to give you, more or less, what I'd have said on Twitter, more or less, at the time. I'm not counting characters and this probably won't be in order. -Had root beer float with dinner. Why is that funny, Dad? Hmmm? -Why does the new Iron Man cartoon suck? I mean besides them making Pepper annoying... -I'm glad the Sox finally capitalized on Lowe's weakness. Prick him and he bleeds. -Saw Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore . Apparently basis for '70's sitcom. But funnier. -If Green keeps this up, Lugo may never play again. #redsox -Saw The Proposal with parents and aunt. Green card wife couldn't make it. - Centurions not as good as I remember from my youth...

This past week gave me a few things to talk about so...Yay! My parents were down so Monday we went out to Applebee's. First off, when I ordered the Strawberry Mojito, I was carded. Am I now at the age I should be flattered by this or is it still an embarrassment? Second off, I don't know what was more annoying the fact I really didn't like it or the fact my mother knew I didn't like it. It wasn't the mojito itself I didn't like. It was the pieces of strawberry and seeds that kept coming up through the straw. I was thinking it would be strawberry flavor... I ordered riblets. One would think that riblets would be small. I still can't figure out the difference between those and actual ribs as they were huge. After dinner we went back to their motel to swim in the pool and sit in the hot tub. Actually, it was hot tubs plural. Because families were taking the last gasp of summer, the pool was crowded. You all know how I hate that. Anyway, we went back up to the r...

This will be long but probably not too informative because, that's not how I roll... Before I left to go up to keep my father and cat company in the absence of my mother who was at a church youth thing in TN, we watched the live action Alvin and the Chipmunks . Overall, it was a great film and throughout the movie they answered my "But what about this?" questions. (I'm still not sure why Simon could see with the random pair of glasses Dave gave him and not the pair Ian forced him to wear since neither pair was prescription but whatever...) I wanted more music as well. When I heard that the Yankees were coming to town the weekend I was going up to see my father, I thought that was awesome timing. My team failed me. (I will discuss today's trade of Manny when I have all the facts...) Sunday afternoon, we saw The Dark Knight . This movie totally rocked my socks. As you've already heard I'm sure, Heath Ledger was awesome as the Joker. Maggie Gyllenhaal added ...

I was reading TV Guide 's review of Wall-E yesterday and I really don't agree with it. They suggest that it's the best Pixar film to date. I think the exact opposite. They particularly liked that it shows humans will be fat and lazy a millennium to two from now. My thought is "Well, yeah..." but this is not really what I want from a cartoon. You know what I would like from a movie? Dialogue. Even silent movies have more than this movie. If you compare the latest cartoon movies, Kung Fu Panda had many big name stars while Wall-E had John Ratzenberger, Jeff Garlin and Kathy Najimy; in supporting roles! If you want to see a Pixar movie, better choices would be The Incredibles or Finding Nemo . Recently, I finished The Eyes of the Beholders , a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel by A. C. Crispin whose Sarek is one of my two favorite Star Trek novels. Being new at that time, it takes places early in the third season. It was a good book subplots that were in...

Friday night, my parents came down because my grandfather's birthday party was yesterday. The three of us went to Friendly's. I hadn't been there in awhile so that was different. My mother and I went in to get a table while my father parked. We told the hostess there was three us. She asked if the other person needed a kid's menu. Thinking about this question later, "Yeah we have a two year old parking the car." When my mother said this, I responded, "Well, this is Maine..." Afterwards we soaked in the hot tub at their motel. This may have been the first time I went hot tubbing since my move to Portland... The party the next day was in two parts. We were joined by my grandfather and his wife at Applebee's. Also in attendance were two aunts, an uncle and one of my young cousins. Most of us were set to order from their "pick two item lunch menu" when the waitress noticed us reading it and informed us that was just Monday through Friday. I...

It has been so gorgeous out yesterday and today. I hope it holds out for the weekend. I spent all day outside yesterday and spent a fair amount so far today. Today I tried a take-out burrito place down town and had a Brazilian Burrito. It had chicken, rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon and pineapple. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Maybe the kitchen sink...It was so good but I was craving a margarita, to celebrate the news item below so I stopped by the "real" Mexican place on the way back here. The biggest news is that the author, the author being moi , copies arrived in the mail yesterday. Funny, yet aggravating, story. I saw a package for me from the publisher before I went to work yesterday on the little shelf under the mailboxes but left it as I was going to my volunteer job and then grocery shopping so I didn't want to carry it around town. I come back to discover the package is gone. I think maybe my neighbor brought it up as he's wont to do...

This past weekend, I went up to see my parents. This time I got a ride up with my boss as she was going to go and visit her sister who lived nearby. (It was at this point I realized I forgot to pack underwear. Thankfully I knew my parents had spares for just such an emergency...) We got a later start than I thought originally but the trip was pretty fun listening to her CDs and sharing the memories the songs had for us. We stopped for dinner and we both had fish and chips but I had white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. That was very good but a very small portion if you ask me. Saturday night, we saw Elizabeth on TV. It was the 1998 version with Cate Blanchett. The cast was amazing! I thought was good. Sunday, I went to my mother's church for a change and then the two of us went to see a live production of Jesus Christ Superstar . I had seen the movie of course but I had never seen it live before. I loved it! I especially enjoyed Herod's dancing girls... We decided t...

Yesterday afternoon, my parents came down to celebrate my father's birthday. Because of my dance group commitment, we ate an early dinner at Applebee's. I had a beer with my Cheddar-Jack Mac and Cheese (which turned out to be Pepper Jack) because, as I pointed out to my mother, all I do is unlock doors and read. After dinner, I took them on a tour of the church and seminary downstairs where I volunteer. Exciting, no? The night got even better during the dance group when I laid down on the floor behind the desk and took a nap. I wonder if anyone saw me as they were much more expedient than normal getting out of the building so I could lock back up. No one said anything to me about it but still I wonder... The birthday "excitement" continued when I stayed home from the library and they took me grocery shopping and then we were joined by my roommate for a walk down to the local Starbucks where I tried their "Leprechaun Latte." I don't know how green it ...

So this weekend, well, Thursday, I went up north to the parental units to celebrate my natal day. The bus ride was pretty good thanks to my aforementioned mixes. My parents were both there at the station and we drove home where my father, bless him, had a six pack of my favorite beer (Amstel Light because domestic is skank) waiting in the fridge. Friday, the actual day, I organized some of my books in my bedroom or the room that is mine when I'm up and there isn't any more important guests. My grandmother and uncle arrived in the afternoon and then was present time! I received some good stuff this year. The Traveling Wilbury Collection with both albums and a DVD. (The DVD has a documentary of how the band was formed and all their videos. Yes! They have videos!) I also received the third volume of The Superfriends otherwise known as "the Firestorm series" and a DVD of Paul McCartney's 2005 tour. Finally, I received Vince Flynn's latest paperback and an autogra...

Though there is one more day, this has been a very good Labor Day weekend. Saturday, we took the bus to the Olive Garden. I didn't even know it was so easy to get there by bus. Cool! We came home and while the roommate's friend made apple strudel, we finally got to watch the movie Ghost Rider . Overall, I thought it was an awesome movie with cool special effects. I never really read the comic although I did read a few issues of the Spirits of Vengeance comic where he teams up with Johnny Blaze; whom he actually is in this movie since it's an origin story. I thought Peter Fonda made a much better Devil than Bryan Cranston in that recent Fallen miniseries but did I really have to point that out? As old flame Roxie Simpson, Eva Mendes was the exact same character as she was in Hitch . As soon as she realized he was telling the truth and was Ghost Rider, she was all over Blaze because flaming skeletons in spiked leather is sexy I guess... Nicolas Cage didn't disappoint as...

When we last left our heroes yesterday they had just gone to a concert at a casino in CT. And now, the continuation! The next morning, Thursday, I went to the dentist for a routine cleaning. I was lucky enough to have the associate dentist herself instead of a hygenist. My regular readers know why I say "lucky." Yes, she's very cute. I think I had the most fun conversation at the dentist that day than I've ever had in my life; at the dentist... I had mentioned I had moved to Maine and was down for a concert. "Poison?" she asked. "No, that was a few days ago. You don't look like a '80's metal fan..." When I told her I had gone to see Bob Dylan she didn't seem that surprised. I don't know what that means...She told me her boyfriend loves Poison and goes every year. She added that he "thankfully" doesn't make her go... That night, I think, we watched the movie Illusion which starred Kirk Douglas as a film director ...

My parents came back up this weekend for my grandfather's birthday party but our story starts on Wednesday afternoon when my cousin/roommate, his mother and I were walking downtown for lunch when my cousin's chair basically ejected him. After they spent time in the emergency room, it was determined that his flag stuck in his wheel. His mother also found a chunk of wood stuck in it. He was a bloody mess at the time but had nothing broken and is healing. Thursday night when I realized the "Glasses" post label would have to be used a second time. Yes, my glasses broke again. I was just sitting there when all of a sudden my lens was in my hand. I took the frames off my face to get a better look at the problem and it turned out that the top part of the "lens hole" that connects to the nose bridge had broken. I think I had those particular frames for a few years so maybe it was time. My aunt, who was there at the time, and I attempted to tape it up. This held mayb...

Recently, I finished reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've enjoyed his books for years (I did a Literary Analysis paper on Sphere junior year of high school) although I think they've consistently made shitty movies out of them. I really hope Hollywood leaves this one alone. I have to say this: State of Fear is his best yet. I finished the book two days ago and there are still people in the book I don't trust. It's a techno-thriller that deals with eco-terrorists. I hadn't planned to finish it so close to Earth Day but it seems fitting. What I enjoy about Crichton's books is that, even though they are works of fiction, they usually include a bibliography this is no exception as it has a 20-pager included as well as two appendices. Not that I want to spoil anything but I was disappointed Peter didn't choose to pursue a relationship with either Sarah or Jennifer. In the scheme of things, that may be a very small nitpick, however. Yesterday, m...

Though the night is still young, we have begun the New Year's celebration. This morning, we had a delicious breakfast of eggs and little cheese smokies left over from Christmas then not longer after prepared to see the UConn woman play in Hartford. The game against Army wasn't as bad as the blowout that was the UConn men's game we went to recently against Moorehead State at Storrs, my first time up there. Both games had the band playing "The Final Countdown" by Europe. I am not kidding. That has to be one of the worst songs ever and VH-1 agrees with me. For the game today, my mother almost fixed me up with a lesbian... I think that was the first time I've been back to the CC since I worked there. I saw many people I knew still working there but only remembered the names of a handful which probably shows you how much I loved that job... It was kind of weird directing my father to different places. Tonight, we tried out the new Texas Roadhouse restaurant. Surpri...